1st Day of Production - Went well!

Yesterday we filmed our first narrative scene for Circles. When we arrived on set to set up, there was the surprising presence of blaring rap music from the amphitheater. This was a total surprise and had us all scared as a crew. We had no idea this would be happening! Thankfully, the event with the loud music ended at 3, which was right in time for us to start filming.

My first official day as a sound-mixer on set went really well in my opinion. Techniques that I've learned within the past month are already starting to make a difference. Instead of holding the boom myself, I was able to place it on a C-Stand and get it extremely close to the actors. Due to an impromptu alumni party close to our location, the background noise made us have to use a lavalier mic unexpectedly.  Thankfully, I was able to place it under her jacket and hide the wire successfully for good, clean audio!

I was also able to edit a rough cut of the scene, which we will show in class Monday.

Overall, it was a great first day of shooting! Now time to get started with the documentary elements.

Something about the Subjects

After shooting some b-roll in the early morning, our crew met with one of our interview subjects and two of teenage actors in the afternoon. All I can say is "wow!" these girls seem really excited about the project, and I can tell that they want to do a good job. I already knew these teenage girls through the youth ministry I lead called Young Life, but of course I don't know them well because our girl leaders work with them the most.

Antonia, our interview subject, has plenty of experience with female shaming, both on the offensive and defensive. She said she can find two friends by Wednesday to be interviewed with her, and she also volunteered her room as a filming location.

Our actresses are even more impressive. At only 15 years old, Mackenzie and Mary Catherine are more mature than some college freshman. I could tell they took performing seriously, but they also had plenty of fun rehearsing the roles. They also have very good chemistry, which should make the morale on set even better.

Our 3rd actress Amy is also good friends with the other 2 actresses. Originally she had to back out because her mom wanted her to 'focus on school,' but we think that we could convince her moom after we tell her it will only take a few hours on a saturday afternoon.

Over all, we are very encouraged by our actors and subjects involved in Circles! We hope we feel the same when we meet the middle-aged and elderly participants.

"Bye Week"

Even though we didn't have class this week, the pre-production for Circles has continued to move along! We are currently writing the screenplays for the dramatizations with the help of Michael N. Moore (No Relation). We got the 1st draft of the first scene from him, and we have already given him feedback on it. Michael is now writing the revisions for scene 1 as well as the first drafts of scene 2 and 3.

We are also getting closer to locking down all our actors and interviewees! All of the teenage actors are locked, and one teenage interviewee is locked. The interviewee is very popular, so we aren't too concerned with her bring along her friends.

The next step is finding locations. We have good ideas about where we want to shoot, but nothing is confirmed as of yet.

We are also one step closer to our tentative calendar! We have all sent our availability to Kebba, and she is now in the process of putting that together.

Overall, it was a very productive week. It is exciting to see our film become closer to production!

Interviewable Expert and their questions - Antonia

Interviewable Expert and Interview Questions

Name: Antonia

Bio:  Antonia Saladino is a Senior at Ashley High School in Wilmington, NC. She is a cheerleader and desired by most of the young men in the school. During her time at Ashley, she has been the center of a lot of drama. Some of this drama has involved boys, but most of it has been girl-focused. While Antonia is often viewed as the starter of drama, she has been on the receiving end more than her fair share of times. Antonia's circle of friends has changed through the years, but she is always able to count on her best friend, Allie.

Questions:

1. What comes to mind when you hear the word, 'Drama'
2. Describe a time when you have been involved in drama?
3. Why do you think friends talk behind each others' backs
4. Describe a time someone talked behind your back.
5. When was a time that you have talked behind someone's back?
6. In your opinion, what makes a true friend?
7. How can you tell if someone is a true friend?
8. Who are some of your true friends?
9. Describe a time when they proved to you that they were a true friend?
10. Who do you hope considers you a 'true friend'?